ENR Southeast City Scoop: Orlando Construction Starts

As is the case in other Southeast cities, Orlando construction activity remains strong across both private and public markets, says Lipscomb. Public investment in such massive projects as the Orlando International Airport’s expansion and the ongoing, $2.3-billion I-4 Ultimate project are boosting the area’s job growth, he says. “As a result,” Lipscomb adds, contractors—like Williams Co.—are seeing “abundant work, particularly in key areas of specialty such as retail, commercial, theme park, senior living, industrial and educational markets,” among others.

The Orlando-based contractor recently completed the first phase of the 450,000-sq-ft Vineland Pointe retail center in Orlando, for instance. Construction related to the area’s well-known theme parks remains a perennially strong driver of major construction projects. In fact, Williams’ most recent construction start involves LEGOLAND’s latest addition, the five-story, 150-room Pirate Island Hotel, announced in January. That project award came as Williams is wrapping up construction of LEGOLAND’s LEGO Movie World, scheduled to open March 27. “Given interest rates remaining steady, all signs point to a year of continued strength market-wide, and with it, a sense of cautious optimism,” Lipscomb says.